Scout Ventures is a U.S.-based early-stage venture capital firm (headquartered in Austin, TX, with presence in Washington, DC) focused on frontier, dual-use, and national-interest technologies. The firm invests at the intersection of defense, cybersecurity, AI, space, autonomy, and infrastructure, backing companies that can scale across both commercial and government markets.

Pre-Seed / Seed: Core focus — often the first or early institutional investor.
Series A: Actively participates and leads/co-leads select Series A rounds.
Follow-On: Reserves capital for high-conviction portfolio companies.

Typical Check Size: $500K–$3M at Seed; $3M–$7M+ at Series A.
Equity Taken:
• Scout Ventures does not publish a fixed ownership mandate, but as a lead or co-lead institutional investor, it typically targets meaningful minority positions.
• Founder-side expectation:
– Seed rounds: ~7%–15% ownership when Scout leads or anchors the round.
– Series A: Often 10%–20% ownership depending on valuation, round size, and syndicate structure.
• Scout is not a passive check and generally invests at levels consistent with board-level involvement.
Equity Structure: Primarily priced preferred equity; SAFEs/notes used selectively at pre-seed.
Governance: Frequently seeks board seats or board observer rights in lead investments.

Submission Method: Direct outreach via Scout’s website or email; warm introductions through founders, operators, or defense/dual-use ecosystems are common but not required.
Founder Engagement: Scout is known for being thesis-driven and founder-accessible, especially for mission-aligned companies.

Sector Focus: Defense tech, dual-use software/hardware, cybersecurity, AI/ML, space, autonomy, logistics, critical infrastructure.
 Geography: Primarily U.S.-based companies (often founder-led), with strong ties to government or regulated markets.
Stage: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A.
Team: Strong preference for technical founders, ex-operators, or founders with government/defense domain expertise.

Initial Screen: Deck review with emphasis on mission relevance and technical differentiation.
 Partner Deep Dive: Product, market, and dual-use applicability assessment.
 Diligence: Technical validation, customer discovery (commercial + government), and reference checks.
 Term Sheet & Close: Institutional process with standard VC terms.

Institutional Capital: Lead or anchor checks that can define the round.
 Strategic Advantage: Deep connections across DoD, federal agencies, primes, and commercial partners.
Operational Support: Go-to-market help for government + enterprise sales.
Follow-On Strength: Ability to support companies through Series A and beyond.